Charter-district cooperation marks school fair

Blog Post by: $author

December 12, 2012 - 10:52 AM

Competition has turned into cooperation between Minneapolis district and charter schools when it comes to seeking potential students.

For the first time, Minneapolis Public Schools and about 30 charter schools based in the city will cooperate on a school choice fair at which parents of students can shop for schools. The Jan. 12 fair will take place at the Minneapolis Convention Center and is aimed at parents of students entering pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. School request forms are due at the district by Feb. 19.

The cooperative effort between district and charter schools is a far cry from some past years. At one point, the district held its annual school fair in a downtown hotel, and the charters scheduled their event for the same day. When the district insisted that the hotel not book charters for the same day, charter schools moved to a neighboring hotel. But now the district authorizes charter schools and has working relationships with others.

The fair will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free child care will be available for children aged three to five, and there will be free parking at the ramp at S. 11th Street and Marquette Avenue.